Systems and methods for merchandising new offers to mobile telephone users based on changes to the mobile telephone&#39;s components

ABSTRACT

A system and method for merchandizing content to wireless subscribers that have upgraded their mobile station or service is disclosed. The wireless carrier maintains a database of identifying data for content downloaded to subscribers&#39; mobile stations. When a subscriber upgrades his or her mobile station the wireless carrier searches the database for previously downloaded content, identifies the equivalent content that is compatible with the new mobile station and provides the information of available equivalent downloads to the mobile station.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related by subject matter to the disclosures in thefollowing commonly assigned application Ser. No. 11/687,210, filed onMar. 16, 2007 entitled “Systems And Methods For Merchandising To MobileTelephones,” Ser. No. 11/687,246, filed on Mar. 16, 2007 entitled“Systems And Methods For Merchandising To Mobile Telephones,” and Ser.No. 11/687,281, filed on Mar. 16, 2007 entitled “Systems And Methods ForMerchandising To Mobile Telephones.” The disclosure of each applicationis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the delivery of content and servicesto users of mobile stations (MS). More specifically, the presentinvention relates to systems and methods to provide users that change orupgrade their MS or service with an option to purchase services orcontent that they had previously purchased for their previous MS orservice, or alternately to merchandize new content based on the new MScharacteristics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of MS, e.g., cellular phones, personal data assistants (PDAs),laptop computers, Internet appliances, etc., has increased significantlyover the years. Over two thirds of the U.S. population carry cellularphones, and many individuals use their cellular phone as their primarycommunication device.

MS such as cellular phones operate in conjunction with cellularnetworks, which are radio networks in which a geographic area issubdivided into a plurality of smaller areas called “cellulars.” Eachcellular is serviced by a fixed transmitter or base station usuallyreferred to as a Base Transceiver Station or “BTS.” The MS and a BTScommunicate with each other via radio frequencies. Each base stationdistinguishes the signal from its transmitter from those of othertransmitters.

There are a number of technologies and standards that are used incellular communications around the world. One widely adopted standard isthe global system for mobile communication (GSM) standard. In a cellularsystem operating under the GSM standard, the MS is equipped with aremovable ID card called a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card thatcontains subscriber information. In the US, among the technologystandards that were adopted for cellular systems are the IS-54, IS-136and IS-95 standards. IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation (2G)systems, also known as Digital AMPS (D-AMPS). IS-95 is a secondgeneration (2G) mobile telecommunications standard that uses CDMA, amultiple access scheme for digital radio, to send voice, data andsignaling data (such as a dialed telephone number) between mobiletelephones and cellular sites. IS-95 is being supplanted in somenetworks by CDMA 2000 that uses CDMA to send voice, data, and signalingdata (such as a dialed telephone number) between mobile phones andcellular sites. Numerous other standards are in use around the world.Irrespective of the standards and technologies utilized by a cellularsystem, they share certain common characteristics and many of themethodologies used in one type of cellular network may be adapted forother types of cellular networks.

An MS such as a cellular phone is associated with a set of identifiersor codes. These identifiers are used to identify the MS, the subscriberto the services provided to the MS and the service provider.

One of the identifiers is the System Identification Code (SID). The SIDis a five digit number (i.e. 15 bit number). The SID is used by the MSto recognize whether they are in or outside of their home network.

Each MS will also have a unique number with the device. For example,each GSM and UMTS mobile phone has a unique International MobileEquipment Identity (IMEI). The IMEI is used by the GSM network toidentify valid devices. One of the uses of the IMEI is to prevent fraud.For example, if an MS is stolen or lost, the service provider may denyservice to the device having the IMEI of the stolen device. Other uniqueidentifiers for mobile devices may include Electronic Serial Numbers(ESN), or Mobile Equipment ID (MEID). The ESN are mainly used with AMPSand CDMA phones in the United States, compared to IMEI numbers used forGSM phones in Europe and elsewhere. Each time a call is placed, the IMEIor its equivalent is automatically transmitted to the base station sothe wireless cellular carrier's mobile switching office can check thecall's validity.

Associated with each MS is a Mobile Identification Number (MIN). The MINuniquely identifies a mobile unit within a wireless carrier's network.The MIN often can be dialed from other wireless or wireline networks.The number differs from the electronic serial number (ESN), which is theunit number assigned by a phone manufacturer. MINs and ESNs can bechecked electronically to help prevent fraud.

When the user of an MS powers on his or her device, the device searchesfor an SID on the control channel. The control channel is a specialfrequency, time slot, or code that the MS and base station use toexchange information, including information for call set-up and channelchanging. When the MS receives the SID, the MS compares it to the SIDprogrammed into the MS. If the SIDs match, the MS knows that thecellular it is communicating with is part of its home system. The MSthen sends a data message to the cellular network that includes the MINand the ESN. The user's MIN is compared with a table of all MINs in thenetwork. The network determines if the MIN belongs to a home customer orto a visiting customer. If the user is a visiting customer, the cellularnetwork where the visiting customer is located (First Network) sends adata message to the HLR in the visiting customers' home network (SecondNetwork). When the HLR at the Second Network receives the message, itchecks the MIN and the ESN. If the numbers are valid, the HLR at theSecond Network records the location of the MS and returns a messagecontaining the subscriber's feature list and calling restrictions to theFirst Network. When the First Network receives the message, it createsan entry in its Visitor Location Register (VLR) to store informationabout the visiting customer, including the MIN and ESN. The VLR is usedby the visiting customer as long as they are registered in the FirstNetwork. If the visiting customer moves to another service area (a ThirdNetwork), the Third Network will initiate the registration process withthe HLR in the Second Network. Consequently, the HLR in a customer'snetwork always keeps track of an MS anywhere in the network. If thevisiting customer turns off the MS, the visiting customer is“de-registered” in the First Network. When the MS is turned on again,the registration procedure is repeated.

Today, cellular phone users download a variety of content items to theirmobile phones including ring tones, games, graphics, picture and videomessaging, videos, applications, etc. Mobile carriers offer salesportals where customers can purchase this content and this has grownover the last several years to a billion-dollar industry. Users alsotypically upgrade their mobile phones every 18 months to 2 years. When auser obtains a new phone, the user must download the content again, evenfor applications that they subscribe to (like MobiTV). Today, there isnot an easy way to guide phone upgraders to a list of past purchasesthat can be delivered to the phone easily. If a user had purchased 6ring tones, 3 games, and 2 applications, they would have to manuallysearch for each of those titles on the carrier's storefront andrepurchase them on their new phone. In addition, because there are somany phone types, content providers often need to develop over 50versions of a title (like the game Tetris) to ensure that it will workon every phone. To repurchase the game may involve purchasing adifferent version of the same title.

MS devices are becoming more flexible in their functionality and thefunctional capabilities of the devices may be modified on demand by wayof things like plug-in memory dongles, CPU accelerators, input/outputaccessories such as keyboards or external speakers, etc. These changesto the functionality of the MS device offer a service provider anopportunity to market content relevant to the enhanced functionality.There is a need for a capability by the service provider to detect andidentify the changes and provide content relevant to the newfunctionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following summary is a simplified summary of the invention in orderto provide a basic understanding of some of the aspects of theinvention. This summary is not intended to identify key or criticalelements of the invention or to define the scope of the invention.

This invention relates to a system for merchandising and deliveringdownloadable content to cellular phone users based on their pastpurchases and designed to be used when the user upgrades their mobilephone. The systems also include subsystems that receive an activationrequest from the subscriber's mobile station, identify a set of contentpreviously downloaded by the subscriber, identify an equivalent set ofcontent that is compatible with the mobile station; and provides thesubscriber with information about the equivalent set of content.

The invention also relates to a method for merchandizing content to anMS user by determining when a subscriber has changed an MS, identifyingcontent previously downloaded by the user in their old MS, determiningthe equivalent content for the new MS, and providing the user withinformation about the equivalent content.

Another methodology for merchandizing previously downloaded content isalso provided by searching a subscriber database to determine if anysubscriber has activated a new MS. If the subscriber has activated a newMS, content previously downloaded by each subscriber that has activateda new mobile station is identified, and information about the previouslydownloaded content is sent to the new MS.

One aspect of the invention is the ability to distinguish when a mobilephone user who is browsing content on a carrier mobile storefront hasrecently upgraded his or her phone and to merchandise to them a list oftheir prior purchases that can be repurchased for installation on thenew phone.

Another aspect of the invention is the merchandizing of content based onchanges to the user's mobile station (mobile phone) specifications.

Other and further aspects of the present invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description and by reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the components of a typical cellular network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of the components of a mobile station inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram illustrating a typical mobile stationactivation process.

FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram illustrating a typical mobile stationcontent download process.

FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor merchandising prior download to a subscriber of a mobile station.

FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram illustrating an alternate embodiment of amethod for merchandising prior download to a subscriber of a mobilestation.

FIG. 7 is block diagram of an alternate embodiment of a method formerchandising to a subscriber of a mobile station based on changes inthe mobile station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a cellular communication system 11 formerchandizing prior download purchases to a plurality of MS 13. Thesystem 11 includes a plurality of MS 13, a base station subsystem 15,and a network subsystem 17. The components described in FIG. 1 for thebase station subsystem 15 and network subsystem 17 are illustrative ofjust one example of a cellular network. There are a number of differentdigital cellular technologies that have been developed and are presentlycommercially employed. These technologies include: Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO),Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), UMTS, HSDPA, DigitalEnhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Digital AMPS (IS-136/TDMA),and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN). Although thesetechnologies may employ different components, it would be readilyapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the systems andmethods described below could be employed with any of the wirelesstechnologies.

In one example of a wireless cellular system the exchange of databetween the wireless mobile devices and the wireless cellular network isaccomplished utilizing one of a number of standard formats through thewireless network including base station subsystem 15 and networksubsystem 17. In an exemplary system, a typical base station subsystem15 includes a plurality of base transceiver stations (BTSs) 19 served bya Base Station Controller (BSC) 21. The BTSs 19 aretransmitter/receivers used to transmit and receive signals over theradio interface section of the network. The BSC 21 controlscommunication between a group of BTSs 19 and a Mobile Switching Center(MSC) 23. The BSC 21 also performs radio signal management functions forthe BTSs 19, managing functions such as frequency assignment andhandoff. The MSC 23 which sets up and maintains calls made over thenetwork. In a GSM system a network switching subsystem would perform asimilar function as the MSC 23. If the cellular network uses GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) the BSC 21 may be a Serving GPRS SupportNode (SGSN). The BTS 19 defines a cellular and handles the radio linkprotocol with the wireless mobile devices 13. The BSC 35 manages theradio resources for one or more BTS devices 19 as well as radio channelsset up, frequency hopping, and handovers. The BSC 21 connects the MS 13with the MSC 23 of the network subsystem 17. As stated previously thisis just one example of the components of an exemplary cellular system.The present invention is not limited to the type of system utilized orthe standards used by the system. It would be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art to implement the methods and systems describedin a variety of cellular systems using various standards.

One component of the example network subsystem 17 is the MSC 23. The MSC23 acts as a switching node and additionally provides all of theprocesses needed to handle an MS 13, such as registration,authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing. Alsoincluded in the network subsystem 17 would be one or more processingunits 25 such as a server. Information from the MSC 23 is processed bythe processing unit 25. Also accessible by the processing unit 25 is ahome location register (HLR) 27. The HLR 27 is a database that containsdata relating to the local subscriber and may include subscriberinformation such as directory number, electronic serial number of the MS13, and services or features the subscriber is assigned. The HLR residesin the wireless network that contains service profiles and is used tocheck the identity of a local subscriber. The network subsystem 17 alsoincludes an authentication center (AuC) 29. The AuC 29 is used duringinitial access to authenticate the user by means of an ESN, SID and MIN.The AuC 29 maintains a list of ESNs and MINs for each subscriber andnetwork. The AuC 29 is used in the verification process to assure that awireless device and its user are compatible with and authorized toaccess a wireless network. This process is accomplished throughtransmission of identifying data at the time of connection. The networksubsystem 17 also includes a visitor location register (VLR) 31 thatincludes information from other systems' HLRs necessary to deliver thesubscribed services and control the calls for each MS 13 within aspecified geographical area. The VLR 31 is a network database that holdsinformation about roaming wireless customers.

Another database included in the network subsystem 17 is the equipmentidentity register (EIR) 32. The EIR 32 contains a list of all valid MSs13 on the network. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a storefront server 33that may be connected to the server 25 and which accesses a storefrontapplication 34. The storefront application 34 is a conventionalelectronic commerce application that is used to merchandize products bythe operator of the system 11. For example, a cellular network operatormay maintain a storefront application 34 for the sale of cellularphones, service plans, ringtones, games, accessories and other items.Associated with the storefront server 33 and the storefront application34 is a storefront database 35 that stores data relating to transactionshandled by the storefront application 34. The system also includes amerchandising application 36 to implement the methodologies described ingreater detail below.

Although in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, there are shown twoservers providing different functions, it would be readily apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that a single server, or multipleservers may be employed to accomplish the same results. Similarly,multiple databases are illustrated, but these may be combined into oneor more database depending on the system architecture utilized by theservice providers.

The cellular communications system 11 may also includes a contentprovider 37 and a content sales portal 39 connected to the networksubsystem 17 through a network such as the Internet. Content providers37 may include independent sources of content such as games, ringtonesand the like. The content sales portal may be an electronic commercesite where the user of the MS 13 may purchase content independent fromthe system operator. Content may be provided by the content provider 37to a content sales portal 39 or alternately the content may be providedto the network subsystem 17 of the cellular service provider through agateway 41 and transmitted through the BTS 19.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the MS 13, (e.g. a cellular phone) includes anumber of subsystems to enable the device to function both as acommunication device and a multimedia display device. The wirelessmobile devices 13 include an RF transceiver 51 that is capable ofreceiving and sending radio transmissions to the BTS 19 through a BPFSwitch 53 and antenna 55. The receive signal from the BTS 19 is receivedby the RF Transceiver 51 and converted to an analog baseband signal bythe analog baseband processor 57. The analog baseband signal isconverted to a digital baseband signal by the digital baseband processor59. The analog baseband signal may also be input to Audio CODEC 61,amplified by amplifier 63, and output to speaker 65. Conversely, anaudio input signal from microphone 67 may be converted to an analogbaseband signal by analog baseband processor 57 and into a digitalbaseband signal by digital baseband processor 59. The MS 13 may alsoinclude a radio tuner 69 capable of receiving signals from radiobroadcast stations or satellite rebroadcast stations. The MS 13 alsoincludes a microprocessor (CPU) 71 with the necessary logic to providethe control functions for the device. The microprocessor may accesssoftware 73 including instructions to provide the control for the MS 13.The MS may include peripherals 75 such as a camera, connections fordownloading information and similar devices. The MS typically includesan information storage subsystem 77 that stores the key identifying amobile phone service subscriber, as well as subscription information,saved telephone numbers, preferences, text messages and otherinformation. In GSM systems the information storage subsystem would beSubscriber Identity Module (SIM card). The equivalent of a SIM in UMTSis a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM). The MS may alsoinclude additional memory 79 that may include cache memory 81. Thesoftware 73 may include an application to handle the storefrontfunctionality of the MS 13, enabling the user to connect to the cellularservice provider storefront to order downloads of content. A display 85is coupled to the digital baseband processor 59 though a displaycontroller 87. The display controller 87 may provide menu functionalityto the display 85 so that the user may select from variety of options.This is facilitated with an input device such as a key pad 89, or byproviding the display 85 with touch screen functionality.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. Thus, the methods and apparatusof the invention, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any othermachine-readable storage medium wherein. When the program code is loadedinto and executed by a central processing unit (e.g. the browserinstalled in the MS 13), the central processing unit becomes anapparatus for practicing the invention. In the case of program codeexecution on programmable computers, the computing device generallyincludes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. One or moreprograms that may implement or utilize the processes described inconnection with the invention, e.g., through the use of an API, reusablecontrols, or the like. Such programs are preferably implemented in ahigh level procedural or object oriented programming language tocommunicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) can beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case,the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combinedwith hardware implementations.

Illustrated in FIG. 3 is a typical process for activating an MS 13 suchas a cellular phone. The user purchases a new cellular phone (methodelement 101) and request activation from the wireless carrier (methodelement 105). The request for activation would typically includecommunicating the ESN number (or IMEI) to the cellular network. This canbe done at a retail establishment, by calling a cellular networkcustomer service representative, or by accessing a cellular network website, entering the ESN and requesting activation. The cellular networkwill typically conduct credit checks for new service accounts. In somecases, the activation can take place over the air (OTA). A user can buya phone from any retail location, open the box, punch in thecustomer-service number on the handset and relay the appropriate creditinformation. Then, once the cellular carrier verifies the creditinformation and approves the account, the phone number and othernecessary information is sent OTA to the SIM card (method element 107).

Illustrated in FIG. 4 is a methodology for downloading content, such asring tones software etc., into an MS 13. The MS 13 may have an embeddedapplication that provides a user interface to select content fordownloading. The user would activate the download application (methodelement 113), select the content to be downloaded (method element 115)and transmits the request to the wireless carrier. The wireless carrierreceives due download request (method element 117), processes therequest and provides and transmits the selected content to the MS 13(method element 119). The selected content is received by the MS 13 andis stored in memory accessible by the appropriate application. Thewireless carrier will also store information relating to the contentthat is downloaded (method element 123) for billing and other purposes.

Illustrated in FIG. 5 is one embodiment of a method for merchandisingprior download purchases to a mobile station in accordance with thepresent invention. In this example, the user of an MS 13 may upgradetheir MS and request activation of the new MS 13 (method element 125).The activation methodology would proceed as illustrated in FIG. 3, withthe wireless carrier receiving the activation request (method element127, in certain cases providing activation information to the new MS(method element 129) and the MS receiving and storing the activationinformation (method element 131). After the activation steps, thewireless carrier stores the MIN and IMEI (or ESN) (method element 133)in a database. The wireless carrier then conducts a search of the SDB 35to determine if the subscriber associated with the MIN has previouslypurchased content (decision node the 135). If the subscriber haspreviously purchased content, the wireless carrier determines whetherthe previous content was purchased for the same MS type as the MSpresently being activated (decision node 137). For example, a cellularphone user may upgrade his or her cellular phone to a model that iscompatible with previous content downloads. In that case the wirelesscarrier searches the database containing the list of previous downloadsand provides the MS with a list of favorites (method element 139) fromwhich the subscriber may select content to download. An example of suchuse may be a subscriber that has a ring tone that he or she hasdownloaded from a storefront provided by the wireless carrier anddesires to use that ring tone in the upgraded cellular phone. Ratherthan having to search through all available ring tones in the wirelesscarrier storefront, the subscriber is provided with an easy way toconfigure the upgraded cellular phone similarly to the old cellularphone. The list of favorites may be provided in a number of ways,including data to be used by a user interface in the MS, or through anSMS or other type of message addressed to the MS. The subscriber wouldreceive the message on their MS (method element 141) and would have theoption to request content from the list of favorites (method element147).

In some cases, the content that had been previously downloaded may notbe compatible with the upgraded MS. In that case, if the MS type isdifferent, the wireless carrier would determine an equivalent contentthat is compatible with the upgraded MS. This is done by searching adatabase that correlates content to MS types. The wireless carrierprovides the MS with an equivalent favorites list (method element 143),that is received and displayed by the MS (method element 145). Thesubscriber may then make a request for the equivalent content (methodelement 147). The content request is received by the wireless carrier(method element 149) and the content is provided to the MS (methodelement 151). The content is then received by the MS (method element153) for use by the subscriber.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment in which the merchandisingcommunication is triggered not by the activation of the MS but rather bya periodic search of the wireless carrier database to determine whethera subscriber has changed his or her MS (i.e. obtained an MS with a newIMEI or ESN). The wireless carrier would search the database associatedwith subscribers to determine whether a subscriber has changed the MS.The wireless carrier would then create a list of changed MSs (methodelement 161). A database of transactions associated with a subscriber issearched to determine if the subscriber has made previous purchases ofcontent (decision node 163). If the subscriber has made previouspurchases of content, the wireless carrier determines the equivalentcontent compatible with the MS associated with the new IMEI, andprovides the MS with a list of favorites (method element 165). The listof favorites is received by the MS and is displayed by the appropriateapplication in the MS (method element 167). The subscriber may then therequest some or all of the content that has been provided in the list offavorites (method element 169). The wireless carrier receives therequest for content (method element 171) and transmits the contents tothe MS (method element 173). The MS receives the content (method element175 and stores the content for execution by the appropriate applicationin the MS. Information about the transaction is then stored (methodelement 177).

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate embodiment wherein changes to thefunctionality of the MS are communicated to the service provider,allowing the service provider to merchandize content relevant to the newfunctionality. A merchandising system 180 includes an MS 181 and anauthentication node 183 that identifies and authenticates both thesubscriber and the MS 181. The authentication node 183 grants the MSaccess to content, passes information about the MS 181 and the user orsubscriber assigned to MS 181 to an Update Engine 185. The update engine185 analyzes the current state of the MS 181 based on informationreceived from the MS 181, data related to subscriber informationpreferences stored in a Subscriber Information Preference Data Store187, and data relating to the subscriber purchase history stored in aSubscriber Purchase History Data Store 189. The Update Engine 185determines whether a change to the MS 181 or the subscriber status orinformation warrants a new content offer, a suggestion to recover oldcontent or any other content related communication. These decisions areused to shape the output of the Content Server 191 which passes an SMSmessages, web pages, or other content to the MS 181 about availablecontent and services based on the available legacy and new content andservices stored in Legacy and New Content/Services Data Store 193.

The user (or subscriber) and the MS 181 must both be identified. A GSMnetwork has ways of authenticating the user and carrying that identitythrough subsequent network processing. Identifying the device wouldentail capturing the IMEI (capturable at network registration) or theHTTP header user agent string (capturable at any browser session). Auser agent is the client application used with a particular networkprotocol. When Internet users visit a web site, a UAstring is sent toidentify the user agent to the server. This UAstring is incorporatedinto HTTP request, prefixed with User-agent: or User-Agent: andtypically includes information such as the application name, version,host operating system, and language. The HTTP UAstring is also availablein Java apps that use HTTP.

Information about the functionality of or changes to the MS 181(including hardware or software) are detected by MS 181 and reflected asdeltas announced in the HTTP header that modify the baseline capabilitydescribed in the User Agent Profile (UAprofile). The UAprofile is aschema defined by the Open Mobile Alliance for detecting user agenttypes and device capabilities. The UAprofile schema specifies a set ofbase attribute names so that different MS manufacturers are able to usethe same set of base attribute names to describe the features andcapabilities of the MS. Examples of the type of information about MShardware functionality that may be communicated through a UAprofileinclude the number of bits that a pixel uses to represent colors, theBluetooth profiles supported by the MS, whether the screen of the mobiledevice can display colors, whether the mobile device can display images,and the like. Examples of the type of information about MS softwarefunctionality that may be communicated through a UAprofile includesupported audio input encoders, acceptable MIME media types, thelanguage preference of the user, whether the MS has the capability ofrunning Java programs, and the like.

An example of the application of the system and method illustrated inFIG. 6 is an MS that is reconfigured to allow the user to plug the MS toexternal speakers. That change would be announced by the MS and the listof applications or services offered by the service provider could beextended to include more audio/video content. Additionally, if the userhad previously purchased audio/visual content the service provider mayoffer to deliver higher fidelity video and audio to take advantage ofthe new functionality. Service offerings may include an offer to updateinsurance coverage when the system detects that the user has boughtexpensive accessories that they might want to insure, or if the user hasa certain accessory the service provider may offer them a betteraccessory.

The above description of embodiments of the invention is not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed.While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. The teachings providedherein of the invention can be applied to other networks, notnecessarily the cellular network described above.

For example, as more content is pushed to telephone devices for variousbusiness reasons, content could be automatically updated. There areseveral push methods that could be use (WAP Push message which tells thebrowser to retrieve a URL to grab the content, Java push message whichalerts a Java app to go one or more pieces of content, a native app,etc.) and where to deposit the content in a way that it remains usablein the same familiar way as before. This could also work in a morecooperative manner. The invention puts the burden on the network toidentify things and deliver updated offers. The device could have anupdate agent that shares the workload. The network discovers a newdevice, notifies the agent on the device, the agent on the device thenpulls the content based on local user-set preferences and/or previouslyknown configurations stored in the network.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems and concepts of the various patents andapplications described above to provide yet further embodiments of theinvention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the invention to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, butshould be construed to include all systems that operate under the claimsto provide a method for delivering text messages and multimedia contentto a mobile station from a broadcast network in an efficient manner withimproved delivery reliability. Accordingly, the invention is not limitedby the disclosure, but instead the scope and definition of the inventionis determined entirely by the following claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of periodically merchandizing content tosubscribers of mobile stations in a cellular network, comprising:receiving subscriber and mobile station information from the subscribersthrough the mobile stations; periodically determining which subscribershave added functionality to their respective mobile stations; creating afirst list of subscribers with mobile stations with added functionality;determining whether the subscribers on the first list have previouslypurchased content; in response to determining that any of thesubscribers on the first list has previously purchased content, thenidentifying compatible content based on the subscriber's previouslypurchased content and the added functionality of the mobile station;creating a second list of compatible content based on the previouslypurchased content of each subscriber on the first list and the addedfunctionality of the mobile station being used by each subscriber on thefirst list; and communicating an offer of said compatible content to themobile station of each subscriber on the first list on a periodic basisby the cellular network; creating a database, by a network processor,that identifies previous downloads by each of the subscribers on thefirst list; creating a list of favorites based on the previousdownloads; and periodically communicating the list of favorites to themobile station of each subscriber on the first list.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said method element of determining whether subscriberson the first list have previously purchased content comprises searchinga database of purchase transactions.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinsaid method element of periodically determining which subscribers haveadded functionality comprises: storing information about thefunctionality of each mobile station; periodically analyzing the currentstate of the functionality of each mobile station; and determining anychanges to the functionality of each mobile station.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said method element of receiving subscriber and mobilestation information from the subscribers comprises capturing the useragent profile for each subscriber.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising maintaining a database that stores data identifying thesubscriber's preferences.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprisingreceiving a request for content from the mobile station.
 7. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium for periodically instructing theoffer of content to subscribers of mobile stations in a cellular networkcomprising computer-readable instructions to: receive subscriber andmobile station information from the subscribers through the mobilestations; periodically determine which subscribers have addedfunctionality to their respective mobile station; create a first list ofsubscribers with mobile stations with added functionality; determinewhether the subscribers on the first list have previously purchasedcontent; in response to determining that any of the subscriber on thefirst list has previously purchased content, then identify compatiblecontent based on the subscriber's previously purchased content and theadded functionality of the mobile station; create a second list ofcompatible content based on the previously purchased content eachsubscriber on the first list and the added functionality of the mobilestation being used by each subscriber on the first list; and communicatean offer of said compatible content to the mobile station of eachsubscriber on the first list on a periodic basis by the cellularnetwork; create a database that identifies previous downloads by each ofthe subscribers on the first list; create a list of favorites based onthe previous downloads; and periodically communicate the list offavorites to the mobile station of each subscriber on the first list. 8.The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein said instructions todetermine whether subscribers on the first list have previouslypurchased content comprise instructions to search a database of purchasetransactions.
 9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein saidinstructions to periodically determine which subscribers have addedfunctionality to the mobile station comprise instructions to: storeinformation about the functionality of each mobile station; periodicallyanalyze the current state of the functionality of each mobile station;and determine any changes to the functionality of each mobile station.10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein said instructions toreceive subscriber and mobile station information from the subscriberscomprises instructions to capture the user agent profile.
 11. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 7 further comprising instructions tomaintain a database that stores data identifying the subscriber'spreferences.
 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 furthercomprising instructions to receive a request for content from the mobilestation.
 13. A system for periodically merchandizing content tosubscribers of mobile stations in a cellular network comprising at leastone subsystem, the at least one subsystem comprises at least a processorthat is configured to: receive subscriber and mobile station informationfrom the subscribers through the mobile stations a mobile station;periodically determine which subscribers have added functionality totheir respective mobile station; create a first list of subscribers withmobile stations with added functionality; determines whether thesubscribers on the first list have previously purchased content; inresponse to determining that any of the subscribers on the first listhas previously purchased content, identify compatible content based onthe subscriber's previously purchased content and the addedfunctionality of the mobile station; create a second list of compatiblecontent based on the previously purchased content of each subscriber onthe first list and the added functionality of the mobile station beingused by each subscriber on the first list; and communicate an offer ofsaid compatible content to the mobile station of each subscriber on thefirst list on a periodic basis by the cellular network; create adatabase that identifies previous downloads by each of the subscriberson the first list; create a list of favorites based on the previousdownloads; and periodically communicate the list of favorites to themobile station of each subscriber on the first list.
 14. The system ofclaim 13 wherein said subsystem that determines whether subscribers onthe first list have previously purchased content comprises at least onesubsystem that searches a database of purchase transactions.
 15. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein said subsystem that periodically determineswhich subscribers have added functionality comprises at least onesubsystem that: stores information about the functionality of eachmobile station; periodically analyzes the current state of functionalityof each mobile station; and determines any changes to the functionalityof each mobile station.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein saidsubsystem that receives subscriber and mobile station information fromthe subscribers comprises at least one subsystem that captures the useragent profile.
 17. The system of claim 13 further comprising a datastore for storing subscriber preference information.
 18. The system ofclaim 13 further comprising a subsystem that receives a request forcontent from the mobile station.